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A song to celebrate Mother Earth’s Rebirth in 2011. Composed, performed and co-produced with the assistance of very special musical guest, Andy Tate. This song uses one of my newest instruments, a three hole Eagle Bone (replica) flute.

Technical Notes

This song was recorded at Andy’s home studio, a marvelous facility that gives us total creative freedom. In this particular piece I’m playing the flute, mandolin and pseudo-sitar in addition to handling the orchestral arrangement. Andy is providing the foundation with an array of wonderful electric and acoustic guitar work. Once the song was musically complete, we did the one thing that would take it to the next level; we had it mastered by LNix Mastering, located at Ardent Studios in Memphis. Once Kevin and Larry did the voodoo that they do so well, the song truly took flight!

Don’t just take my word for it, though. Click the listen link and hear for yourself as we celebrate the approach of yet another season of sunshine, growth and promise of renewal.

Once upon a time a famous poet was a guest in a college English class where one of his poems was being discussed. Students gave varying opinions as to the meaning of a certain passage. After a bit the poet stood up and said, “Actually, what I meant in writing that was…” but before he could finish, the professor quickly said, “SIT DOWN, YOU’RE JUST THE AUTHOR!”

That’s the way creativity operates on this planet. As an artist in any medium, what you think-n-say about your work matters not a fraction compared to what the world sees when they experience it.

A friend asked me, “Is it better to be loved or feared? You can fight through fear with love. It’s impossible to fight through love using fear. What do you think?”

I replied with an old saying, “the biggest problem with a gun is that you command obedience only so long as you are holding and aiming it.” And so it is also with fear in general.

There is a thrill of sorts associated with “making someone do something” but it is short lived and counter productive. Because fear must be produced in others against their will, it requires a great deal of effort and energy to enforce. Drop your guard for a moment and fear can then be used against you a million different ways.

Love, on the other hand, is the natural result of a life fully lived spent connecting with others and establishing bonds. Love conquerors all by yielding everything.

I had a wonderful conversation with a young lady who manages one of my favorite local restaurants. Through our frequent patronage she has come to know my family. During our chat she mentioned that she was impressed with my children (two sons, 18 & 20), especially by their maturity and intelligence. I, of course, thought her to be an excellent judge of character.

She then told me a bit about her own children, two young boys just beyond toddler-hood, and said that she would be appreciative of any advice I had about raising them properly. We swapped a few parenting stories and did a good job of making each other smile. Then, as I was leaving, I turned around with sudden inspiration and gave her the one piece of universal advice I had. Something that applies to virtually all challenges we encounter in this life. It is short and to the point:

Every situation is different, but if you always act from your heart
the worst you can be is wrong for the right reasons.

There it is, so simple and yet so all encompassing. This one concept is a major key to life itself and how to live it fully, regardless of your belief system (or the lack of one). What it is not, is an excuse to be impulsive, self centered and Hedonistic. Quite the contrary. The heart is the mind’s most invaluable tool when we get into the habit of listening to it.

If one truly uses their heart as a compass most of life’s confusion falls away. It simplifies your situation, clarifies your mind and reveals what’s really important for the development of your Spirit. And best of all, it actually can banish worry and doubt, because the heart is the portal through which we connect to something that is greater than ourselves. It does not matter what you conceptualize that “something greater” to be, but it is vital to your own growth that you connect with it.

Isn’t it amazing that one casual conversation can reveal an insight that guides you for a lifetime?! That’s how life works IF YOU ARE LISTENING.